Iraqi troop who invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2 thought they were on a training exercise preparing “to conquer Israel,” according to a man who identified himself as a member of the Kuwaiti royal family in telephone interview Wednesday with Israel Radio.
The troops were surprised to find themselves occupying a neighboring Arab country, according to the informant, who identified himself as Prince Ahmed Yusuf a-Sabah, a cousin of the deposed Emir Jaber al-Ahmed a-Sabah of Kuwait, present reported to be in Saudi Arabia.
He spoke from a hotel room in Bahrain another oil-producing emirate in the Persian Gulf where he said he escaped from Kuwait by using desert back roads.
He was fully aware he was talking to the Israeli media, the radio reported. If indeed a Kuwaiti prince, he would be the first member that country’s extensive royal family interview by Israeli journalists.
The telephone connection was made by a Tel Aviv-based private company relayed through London. There are no direct telephone communications between Israel and the Persian Gulf states.
“We saw a lot of aircraft and a lot troops in all the streets of Kuwait,” Sabah said. He spoke of widespread looting and rape by the Iraqi soldiers.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
